What I Learned This Semester from My Students

One might think that I am pretty well-informed about American religious history. After all, I’ve been teaching it for 17 years, and I even wrote a comprehensive book on the topic, Formed from this Soil: An Introduction to the Diverse History of Religion in America .

But students introduce me to new topics and different perspectives every year. This semester I learned new details about Alabama football as civil religion; I became aware of the proliferation of religious memes on the internet; I gained insight about the American Armenian community; I found a few new films to see and additional books to read; and I was greatly moved by personal essays of religion in contemporary America.

Indeed, I join the students as a learner in a course that never ceases to teach. ♨